The Football Faithful
·20 de novembro de 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·20 de novembro de 2024
Gianluigi Buffon has said Neymar is the best player he played with during his career and has claimed the forward ‘deserved to win five Ballon d’Or’.
Buffon has shared the dressing room with some of football’s all-time greats during spells with Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and the Italian national team.
The World Cup winner has played alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane but believes Neymar is the best of the bunch.
“The best player I’ve played with, I’d say Neymar Jr,” the Italian told Corriere della Sera..
“In my opinion, he deserved to win five Ballon d’Or. I had the chance to share the pitch with Zidane, Ronaldo, Messi and more but Ney was really special guy and player.”
Buffon played alongside Neymar at PSG, where the Brazilian scored 118 goals in 173 games after his world-record £198m move to the club from Barcelona. However, injuries punctuated his time in Paris, while a failure to win the Champions League or Ballon d’Or has been used as a slight on his time in France.
Neymar left PSG to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in 2023 but has endured a torrid time with injuries in the Middle East. He has featured just seven times in all competitions across the last two seasons.
The 32-year-old is the highest-scoring Brazilian in UEFA Champions League history and the record scorer for the national team, having eclipsed Pele in September 2023.